Jetsettersblog

Bringing Country to the Coast

Shoal Bay Resort and Spa are proud to again be part of the Blue Water Country Music Festival where well over two hundred country music artists will perform throughout Port Stephens over the June long weekend.

This year’s line up of artists is bigger than ever before with Shoal Bay Resort & Spa playing host to a number of popular Australian country music artists. Free entertainment will be provided in the Country Club Hotel and Mermaids Bar & Grill with a line-up of country music’s finest including Handpicked, Michelle Little Band, Nick Cesta, Kate Ballantyne and Bec Willis. Back by popular demand, Ruckus will raise the roof at the County Club Hotel on Sunday 7th June from 8.30pm.

A highlight of the weekend will be an extraordinary “Live and Intimate Session” with Kirsty Lee Akers and Tracy Killeen at Shoal Bay Resort & Spa on Saturday 6th June. At just 20 years of age, Kirsty earned a CMAA (Country Music Association of Australia) Golden Guitar Award for Best New Talent in 2008 and has quickly become one of the most sought after young performers in the industry.

Also taking the stage for this very special evening is Tracy Killeen, the vivacious redhead known for her integrative song writing, heartfelt singing and dynamic stage presence. Tracy has had huge success stemming from the Australian College of Country Music to her years performing as part of the award winning duo “SweeneyKilleen”.

Shoal Bay Resort & Spa’s Blue Water Country Music Festival entertainment guide:

COUNTRY CLUB HOTEL (FREE ENTRY)

Friday 5th June – Handpicked 9.00-12.00pm
Saturday 6th June – Michelle Little Band 8.30-11.30pm
Sunday 7th June – Ruckus 8.30-11.30pm

MERMAIDS BAR & GRILL (FREE ENTRY)

Saturday 6th June – Nick Cesta 2.00-5.00pm
Sunday 7th June – Kate Ballantyne 2.00-5.00pm
Monday 8th June – Bec Willis 2.00pm – 5.00pm

WHITESANDS CONVENTION CENTRE

“Live & Intimate Session” with Kirsty Lee Akers & Tracy Killeen
Saturday 7th June from 7.30pm – Tickets $30 & $39 pre booked

LIVE & INTIMATE DINNER PACKAGES

2 course dinner in Catch & concert ticket: $85 per person

Buffet dinner in Promenade Restaurant & concert ticket: $65 per person

Enjoy the natural beauty of Shoal Bay while enjoying the Blue Water Country Music Festival with accommodation packages available from $112 per person per night, twinshare including breakfast (Conditions Apply). For more accommodation options, please call Reservations on 1800 18 18 10 or visit www.shoalbayresort.com

Shoal Bay Resort & Spa, proudly supporting the 2009 Blue Water Country Music Festival.

Located on the shores of Lake Titicaca in Peru, Titilaka Hotel now offers travelers the opportunity to sail across the highest navigable lake in the world on the hotel’s very own sailboat.

Resting at 12,535 feet above sea level, Lake Titicaca provides the perfect sailing experience amidst the beautiful plateaus of the Central Andes.

The sailboat, which seats a maximum of six people, was brought by road from Callao Sea Port to Puno where it sailed to the Titilaka Hotel.

“We are very excited to provide visitors to Lake Titicaca with this one-of-a-kind sailing experience,” says Ignacio Masias of the Andean Experience Co. “It is sure to spark some additional excitement for travelers to the hotel this summer.”

Located in the high plateaus of the Central Andes between Peru and Bolivia, Titilaka Resort features 18 fully serviced Lake View Suites complete with spa bathrooms and heated floors, and the choice between 14 different travel excursions.

For more information, please visit www.andean-experience.com/titilaka

TAM launched the Iphone version of its website (www.tam.com.br/iphone) where clients may use the check-in online, flight timetable information, fidelity program, etc… TAM is the first Brazilian airline company to adopt a mobile plataform for Iphone.

The National Airport Authority of Brazil (INFRAERO) reveals that it will offer, as per next December, free WIFI access in the following Brazilian airports:

Guarulhos (SP), Galeão (RJ), Brasília (DF), Confins (MG), Santos Dumont (RJ), Congonhas (SP), Salvador (BA), Recife (PE), Porto Alegre (RS), Manaus (AM), Curitiba (PR) and Belém (PA). According to INFRAERO, the service will be extended to 20 other airports in 2009 and it is planned that all 67 airports administrated by INFRAERO should be equipped to provide this modality of free service in the near future.

Mr & Mrs Smith, the world’s leading boutique travel experts have arrived in the Southern Hemisphere, bringing their style savvy collection of unique hotels from around the world to travel-loving Australians.

A new Asia-Pacific office has opened in Melbourne and it’s headed up by Simon Westcott, former Global Publisher of Lonely Planet, who’s also a regular travel writer and blogger, and a boutique hotel connoisseur in his own right.

Part travel-guide, part holiday-booking-service, part travel-club for those in the know, Mr & Mrs Smith is all about helping you experience the best weekend away possible.

The website, www.mrandmrssmith.com, currently offers the discerning traveller more than 500 recommendations for smaller, sexier hotels and properties from Australia and around the world that stuffy luxury guides and run-of-the-mill directory sites so often overlook.

Simon and his in-the-know team aim to develop Mr & Mrs Smith’s Asia-Pacific collection online, growing the current list of hand-picked hotels and stylish self-catering stays into an unrivalled selection of up to 200 properties in Australia and the region to take the global collection to more than 700 properties by the end of 2010. As an extension of the UK office, the Melbourne HQ will host its own in-house publishing, contracting, marketing and reservations teams.

A brand new Mr & Mrs Smith guidebook, covering Australia and New Zealand, is planned to hit the shelves in the UK in October 2009, with a Mr & Mrs Smith Asia collection planned to follow in March 2010.

‘Australians and New Zealanders are among the most experienced and discerning travellers in the world so it’s a fantastic opportunity and a great privilege to be bringing the unique Mr & Mrs Smith service to these markets,” says Mr & Mrs Smith Asia-Pacific co-founder Simon Westcott.

“We’re excited by the prospect of uncovering even more local hotels, Antipodean tastemakers, and home-grown luxury partners.”

Every boutique hotel in the Mr & Mrs Smith collection has been hand-picked by the Mr & Mrs Smith team and anonymously reviewed by a handful of “tastemakers” from the worlds of music, fashion, theatre, publishing, architecture, food and wine including local talent such as actress Sigrid Thornton, and chefs Christine Manfield and Neil Perry.

Their brief – to provide would be travellers with the low-down on each property’s perks and quirks, including insider tips on the best rooms in the house.

“In the current environment, the right recommendation from boutique hotel experts is essential to make sure you’re spending your money wisely,” Simon adds.

But Mr & Mrs Smith is about more than just hot tips for great weekends away.

Mr & Mrs Smith offers a premium travel booking service and can arrange everything for the boutique traveller either online, or through our local travel team who can be contacted round the clock for the cost of a local call -

1300 896 627

Stay with the Smiths!

The Ko’a Kea Hotel & Resort has recently opened in Kauai.

Ko’a Kea is designed as the ultimate luxury experience, offering 121 redesigned guestrooms and suites as well as restaurant Red Salt and a luxury spa facility.

For more info visit their website at:

www.koakea.com

The Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa has transformed its Waikiki Luau on the Lagoon into an exciting new show.

The Waikiki Starlight Luau features the performers from Tihani Productions in a creative new show concept – a stage in the round – where every seat
promises a great view.

Guests are taken on an exhilarating voyage across the South Seas in a celebration of Polynesian music and dance.

From the mesmerizing Otea of Tahiti to the graceful Hawaiian hula to the rhythmic Maori dances of New Zealand, the show embraces the audience from its start to its exciting climax, an unprecedented four-man Samoan fire-knife dance.

Complementing the show concept is a sumptuous dinner buffet featuring a modern twist on traditional luau fare.

www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com/luau

Ideally located on the banks of the Fitzroy River, The Edge Luxury Apartment Hotel offers a luxurious and environmentally-friendly getaway for visitors to Rockhampton.

Situated in the heart of the ‘beef capital’s’ CBD, The Edge is Rockhampton’s newest and largest luxury apartment hotel and the only one with a four-and-a-half green star rating.

The property incorporates a range of environmentally-friendly practices including water-saving and energy-efficient devices and extensive natural ventilation and lighting.

All 90 rooms at The Edge, whether hotel, or self-contained one, two or three bedroom apartment, boast panoramic river, hinterland or city views.

Other highlights of the new property include a state-of-the-art glass-edged lap pool, fully-equipped gymnasium and an alfresco style restaurant and bar at street level which is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, seven days a week.

Ph: 1800 853 224 or visit www.theedgeapartments.com.au

Feed the chooks, milk the cows and ride the horses by day and rest easy at night in Lillydale Farmstay’s new eco-cabin.

The award-winning farmstay offers fun farm holidays for the whole family in Queensland’s Scenic Rim, a 90 minute drive from Brisbane and the Gold Coast. The new, fully self-contained, two bedroom eco-cabin was built using environmentally-friendly practices and products such as farmed timber, natural insulation and water saving devices. The cabin’s spacious deck is the perfect spot to toast a full day’s ‘work’ on the farm while enjoying the fantastic views of Mt Lindesay, Mt Ernest, Mt Barney and Mt Maroon.

Phone (07) 5544 3131 or visit www.lillydale.com.au

The self-proclaimed ‘beef capital of Australia’, Rockhampton in Central Queensland is the perfect spot to get a real taste of cattle country, discovers Jessica Reid.

In May Rocky hosts BEEF AUSTRALIA – a week long celebration held every three years of all things ‘beefy’ including cattle sales, rodeos, steak cook-offs and much more.

But away from the main arena, there are plenty of year-round experiences on offer where you can ‘beef’ it up as much as your heart desires!

With direct flights to Rockhampton from Brisbane, Townsville, Sydney and Melbourne, Rockhampton, or ‘Rocky’ as it is known by locals, is easily accessible and has a range of experiences to fill every holiday itinerary.

First stop on a ‘beef-themed’ getaway to Rocky though, would have to be one of the town’s famous big bulls. Have your photo taken in front of one of the over-sized fibreglass creatures before heading to the Gracemere Saleyards to see the real thing.

Every Friday at 9am, visitors to Gracemere can mix with the wheelers and dealers in the beef industry and experience the dust and drama of a real cattle auction.

Situated just outside Rockhampton, Gracemere also holds regular horse, calf and weaner sales that are open to the public. Visit this link to view the schedule.

Before the cattle make it to the saleyards however, you can find them on one of the many farms that are sprinkled throughout the Central Queensland region, some of which open their doors to visitors for an authentic farmstay experience.

Myella Farmstay is located a 90 minute drive south-west of Rockhampton and it promises to leave you ‘stiff, sore and dirty, but happy’! The farm stay is activity-based, however you can do as much or as little as you like including 4WD farm tours, lasso classes, milking the cows and collecting the eggs, horse rides, campfires, bush poetry and motorbike riding. www.myella.com

From the paddock to the plate, there are many places in Rocky claiming to serve up the best steak in town – quite a statement, considering it’s the beef capital of Australia!

Some of the favourites that won’t disappoint include Ascot Stonegrill Restaurant, The Great Western Hotel, Allenstown Hotel, Cassidy’s Seafood & Steakhouse and The Cambridge Hotel.

The Great Western Hotel also boasts one of the largest indoor rodeo arenas in Australia.

The arena is always a popular location when the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) come to town to display their spectacular talent. “CC”, one of the PBR’s star rodeo clowns, is a colourful character that loves to perform daredevil stunts which will keep you on the edge of your seat!

If you’re not in town for one of the signature rodeo events, make sure you still pop into the Great Western on a Friday night when the arena hosts practice bull rides from 7pm. Entry is free. www.greatwesternhotel.com.au

If horses are more your thing, then don’t miss a visit to the Capricorn Resort where you can join one of the daily guided horse rides along the beautiful Farnborough beach at Yeppoon.

Situated just 35 minutes from the heart of Rockhampton, the coastal town of Yeppoon is also the jumping off point for the region’s many reef, sailing and fishing trips which incorporate the stunning islands and beaches in the Keppel Bay.

So whether you ‘reef’ it, or ‘beef’ it in Rocky, or combine a bit of both, there’s something for everyone in this little piece of paradise.

Getting there: Virgin Blue, Qantas and Jetstar all fly direct from Brisbane and Sydney. Tiger Airways has direct flights from Melbourne and Virgin Blue has also started new direct flights to Rockhampton from Townsville.

Holiday ideas and information: www.capricornholidays.com.au